THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS AND THE 144,000 : PART 2
Last Updated: 12/18/98
Esau And The Edomites, Lot And The Moabites And Ammonites,
Pagan Worship Of The Edomites, Moabites And Ammonites, The
Backslidden Jews, Israelites And Arabs - Enemies From The
Start, Forsook God Of Their Fathers, False Religion Of Islam
Three Broken Horns, Libya Question, Jordan's King Hussein
And The Coming War, Mystery Of Petra, Destruction At Noonday
I concluded part one of this series by stating that while
the woman's place of refuge might be somewhere in Israel,
outside of Jerusalem, or perhaps even in the United States
of America, there is a third possibility which is worthy of
our consideration. Before explaining it to you, I am going
to provide you with some interesting background material
regarding the ancient history of the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan.
According to both the Biblical and the historical record,
thousands of years ago, the nation of Jordan was populated
by three main groups; the Edomites, the Moabites and the
Ammonites. The Edomites, or Idumeans, were the descendants
of Esau, the jealous twin brother of Jacob, who went to live
at Mount Seir with his heathen wives. We are told that he
had to oust the Horims, or 'cave dwellers', in order to take
over what would eventually be called Edom. It is interesting
to note that, just as southern Jordan is characterized by
red and pink sandstone mountains, the word 'Edom' also means
'red'; and of course, Esau was red, or ruddy, and hairy at
birth. Consider the following verses which confirm these
various points:
"And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment;
and they called his name Esau." (Genesis 25:25)
"And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother
unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom."
(Genesis 32:3)
"So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir."
(Genesis 33:16)
"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith
the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the
daughter of Elon the Hittite:" (Genesis 26:34)
"Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which
he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the
sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife." (Genesis 28:9)
"Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau
took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter
of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the
daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael's
daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz;
and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and
Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were
born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his
wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons
of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all
his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and
went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.
For their riches were more than that they might dwell
together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not
bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount
Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau
the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:"
(Genesis 36:1-9)
"And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through
the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell
in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed
unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will
not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot
breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a
possession...The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but
the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed
them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel
did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave
unto them...As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt
in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and
they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this
day:" (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 12, 22)
While the Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the Bible
informs us that the Moabites, as well as the Ammonites, were
the descendants of Abraham's nephew, Lot. This came about
when Lot's two daughters decided to have sexual intercourse
with their drunken father in order to preserve their seed,
following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We find the
story in the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Genesis:
"And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and
his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar:
and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the
firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and
there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the
manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink
wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of
our father. And they made their father drink wine that
night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father;
and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said
unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father:
let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in,
and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
And they made their father drink wine that night also: and
the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not
when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the
daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the
firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is
the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger,
she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same
is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day."
(Genesis 19:30-38)
Just as the Lord had helped the Edomites to destroy the cave
dwellers known as the Horim, so that they might inherit Edom
and Mount Seir, He also helped the Moabites to destroy the
giants, which they called the Emims, and the Ammonites to
also destroy the giants known as the Zamzummims, in order
that they too might possess the lands of Moab and Ammon. We
find the story in the Book of Deuteronomy:
"And when we passed by from our brethren the children of
Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from
Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way
of the wilderness of Moab. And the LORD said unto me,
Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in
battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a
possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot
for a possession. The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a
people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; Which also
were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call
them Emims." (Deuteronomy 2:8-11)
"And when thou comest nigh over against the children of
Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will
not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any
possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot
for a possession. (That also was accounted a land of giants:
giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call
them Zamzummims; A people great, and many, and tall, as the
Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they
succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:"
(Deuteronomy 2:19-21)
Because the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites were
not the children of promise; that is, they were not the seed
of faith through Isaac, as I explained in part one, it isn't
surprising that they chose to forsake the God of their
fathers; that is, of Abraham, Isaac and Lot, and worshipped
the pagan gods of the heathen around them. Not only that,
but they eventually had a negative spiritual influence on
the children of Israel, and caused them to fall into pagan
worship as well. This paganism and idolatry still existed at
the time of the construction of the Second Temple following
the Seventy Years of Captivity in Babylon. This is evident
by verses such as the following:
"For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the
city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of
the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab! thou art
undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that
escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king
of the Amorites." (Numbers 21:28-29)
"And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit
whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the
people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did
eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself
unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against
Israel." (Numbers 25:1-3)
"For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites...Then did Solomon build an high place for
Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before
Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children
of Ammon...Because that they have forsaken me, and have
worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh
the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children
of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which
is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my
judgments, as did David his father."
(1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33)
"And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were
on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon
the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination
of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the
Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of
Ammon, did the king defile." (2 Kings 23:13)
"Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is
confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have
devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from
being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the
sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from
Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the
going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the
going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of
destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in
the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy works
and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh
shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his
princes together...And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as
the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their
confidence...Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh
perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy
daughters captives." (Jeremiah 48:1-7, 13, 46)
"Now when these things were done, the princes came to me,
saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the
Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of
the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites,
the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the
Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for
themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have
mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the
hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this
trespass." (Ezra 9:1-2)
The Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites were so backslidden
against the God of their fathers, that it wasn't before long
that they became the outright enemies of the Israelites. You
may recall from my other articles, that from the beginning,
Jacob and Esau were enemies. Even before they were born, we
are told that they struggled within their mother's womb; and
at the actual time of their birth, this struggle was further
symbolized when Jacob grabbed the heel of his slightly older
brother, Esau. Additionally, Jacob was favored by his mother
Rebekah, while Esau was favored by his father, Isaac. It was
only the wisdom of Rebekah, and a trick of the Lord, which
caused Isaac to bless Jacob, instead of his older brother
Esau. Consider the following verses:
"And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was
barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his
wife conceived. And the children struggled together within
her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went
to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two
nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be
separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be
stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve
the younger. And when her days to be delivered were
fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the
first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they
called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out,
and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was
called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she
bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter,
a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in
tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his
venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob." (Genesis 25:21-28)
Many years later, after Jacob had spent twenty years serving
his father-in-law, Laban, up in Syria, and had obtained a
family of his own, although Jacob and Esau were happy to see
each other, the brotherly mistrust still existed; and that
is why even though Esau invited Jacob to go with him into
his own land at Mount Seir, the Lord instructed Jacob to do
otherwise. Jacob knew that they would never be able to live
together in peace; and it has remained that way to this very
day. Notice in the following verses, that when Esau offered
to accompany Jacob to Mount Seir, Jacob told him to go ahead
of them; and then when Esau offered to leave some of his men
with Jacob, probably to assist him and his people on their
way to Mount Seir, Jacob also said that it wasn't necessary.
Not only that, but once Esau began the return journey to
Mount Seir, Jacob went to Succoth instead. He didn't follow
his brother:
"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau
came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the
children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two
handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children
foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and
Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed
himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his
brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept."
(Genesis 33:1-4)
"And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I
will go before thee. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth
that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with
young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day,
all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over
before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as
the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to
endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said,
Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with
me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the
sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto
Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an
house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of
the place is called Succoth." (Genesis 33:12-17)
The history of the animosity between the children of Israel
and the children of Moab and Ammon follows a similar course;
in fact, if we study the Scriptures closely, we can see that
this trouble began as far back as the days when their father
Lot dwelt with Abraham, then known as Abram. Perhaps you
recall the following story from the Book of Genesis:
"And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds,
and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they
might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that
they could not dwell together. And there was a strife
between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of
Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled
then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no
strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the
whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from
me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the
right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go
to the left." (Genesis 13:5-9)
As I explain in my series 'Homosexuality And Lesbianism: To
The Point', Lot's problems did not end there. As we know, he
selfishly chose the better part of the land; which just so
happened to be near the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lot was in such a sinful backslidden state due to his own
worldliness and selfishness, that even when God had mercy on
him, the Lord's Angels still had to force him and his family
to flee from Sodom before its destruction. Not only that,
but even after his miraculous deliverance, Lot still had the
nerve to complain to his Angelic Deliverers, by saying that
it was too difficult to flee to the mountains with his wife
and two daughters. As you can see by my earlier statements,
even though Lot fled to Zoar, eventually, he was forced to
flee to the mountains with his two daughters anyway.
The point is, the spiritual clash, and physical animosity
which began between Abraham and Lot, only grew worse as
Lot's descendants began to populate the land of Jordan. The
account of Balak, king of Moab, and the prophet Balaam is a
clear example of this. Most people recognize this as the
story of Balaam's Ass, but there is much more to it than
that. This story occurred during the journey to Canaan, when
Moses and the Israelites were passing by the border of Moab.
Balak, who was a worshipper of the false god, Baal, was so
afraid of the great multitude of Isarelites, that he called
for Balaam, and then asked him three times to curse his
enemies the Israelites. Being a God-fearing man, each time,
Balaam sought the Lord about it, and each time, the Lord
told Balaam to bless the Israelites; which he did. This
story contains a very interesting prophecy in Numbers
chapter twenty-four, which I encourage you to read.
Let me stress again that all of these things happened
because they forsook the God of their fathers; and to this
very day, this continues to be the case. According to the
information I have read, ninety per cent of the population
of Jordan is comprised of Palestinians; the vast majority of
which are Muslims, with a small percentage of Christians as
well. As I clearly point out in the controversial article
'The Holy Qur'an: Doctrine Of Devils!', Allah is not the God
of Abraham; because whereas Abraham was taught to have faith
in the coming Saviour, the Qur'an plainly teaches that God
does not have a Son, that Jesus Christ was only one of many
great teachers and Prophets, and that Muhammad is the final,
true and greatest prophet of all time. What is startling
about these facts, is that, just as the Palestinians have
forsaken the God of their fathers, we are told the exact
same thing regarding the Islamic Beast:
"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the
desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all." (Daniel 11:37)
So as you can see, all of the Arabs who practice Islam are
not worshipping the true God of Heaven. It is a total lie of
Satan. While they may refer to the coming war as an Islamic
Jihad, or holy war, it will be the most unholy war of all;
because it will be inspired by the false angel of light, the
Prince of Darkness, who feigns to be the true God of Heaven.
At this point, allow me to share with you these additonal
verses found in the book of the Prophet Daniel:
"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among
them another little horn, before whom there were three of
the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in
this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth
speaking great things...And the ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall
rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and
he shall subdue three kings." (Daniel 7:8, 24)
"He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many
countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of
his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children
of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the
countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he
shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans
and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
(Daniel 11:41-43)
As I explain in the six-part series 'The Great Tribulation
And The Rapture', it is currently my belief that President
Hafez al-Assad of Syria, or possibly one of his successors,
may be the Beast of both Daniel and John's prophecies. Until
now, I have speculated that the three horns which the Beast
will subdue, might be Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. If this
were the case, then Assad would fulfill his personal vision
of a 'Greater Syria'; however, upon re-reading the above
verses, I must conclude that perhaps my understanding has
been a little darkened until now. Please notice that in the
first set of verses, Daniel tells us that three horns will
be broken; and then four chapters later, he tells us the
exact names of three countries which will not escape the
wrath of the Beast; that is, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia. That
seems like an obvious Scriptural connection to me.
I will admit, that at this current time, I don't understand
why Libya will suffer the wrath of the Beast, being as she
is very much against the state of Israel. I honestly do not
see Colonel Moammar Kadhaffi changing his views towards the
Jews, now or ever. It may be that, as I've suggested before,
Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia and other North African nations may
suddenly begin to feel uncomfortable with President Assad's
desire for expansion, and thus break their ties with him.
The only other possibility, is that the Libya of the Bible
did not occupy the same land area as the modern Libya. This
is a common occurence when trying to connect ancient names
with their modern counterparts. There is some debate within
scholarly circles regarding some of these issues; such as
the proper location of the ancient Cush and Tarshish.
However, what I really wish to call to your attention in the
previous verses, is that interesting phrase 'but these shall
escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief
of the children of Ammon'. As we already know, that can only
be referring to Jordan. Exactly why Jordan escapes the wrath
of the Beast is somewhat of a mystery to me. Perhaps King
Hussein will choose to go along with the invasion of Israel,
in order to relieve his own problem of having such a large
population of Palestinians in Jordan; while Egypt, on the
other hand, will continue to compromise with Israel due to
the American dollars flowing into the Egyptian economy. I
don't doubt that it is only American dollars, as well as
massive military aid, which is currently keeping President
Hosni Mubarak in power. Lately, he's been losing popularity
with Muslim radicals within his country.
What complicates this matter, is that in 1994, King Hussein
signed a peace accord with the Israelies; and thus, at this
current time, he has a very volatile peace arrangement with
them. However, what if, because he realizes that all-out war
is inevitable with Israel, while he will side with his Arab
neighbors, he will either secretly, or openly, offer a way
to escape destruction for those Jews who wish to take it? In
other words, what if he tells the government of Netanyahu,
'Look, if you don't give the Palestinians East Jerusalem for
their capital, then we will just be forced to take it from
you; however, there is no guarantee that the war will stop
there. My friends want to wipe Israel off the map. We have
been friends; so here is what I am willing to do for you'.
Having now explained these things to you, let us return now
to our main issue of the Woman in the Wilderness, and her
flight into her prepared place of refuge during the coming
Great Tribulation. In the Old Testament Scriptures, we find
the following obscure and rather mysterious verses in the
beginning of the sixteenth chapter of the Book of the
Prophet Isaiah:
"Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the
wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it
shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so
the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take
counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in
the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him
that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be
thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the
extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the
oppressors are consumed out of the land." (Isaiah 16:1-4)
In these verses, the name 'Sela' is believed to be referring
to ancient Petra. This is the _only_ place in the Scriptures
where this name is even mentioned. That alone really adds to
this mystery. Exactly where was Petra located? In none other
than the ancient land of Moab in southern Jordan! What we
see thus far, is that for some reason, which is obviously
known and planned by God Himself, Jordan is going to escape
the coming wrath of the Islamic Beast; and Petra just so
happens to be located in Jordan. Allow me to share some
additional information with you regarding Petra, or 'Sela'
as it is called in the Bible.
Sela, or Petra, derives its name from a Greek word which
actually means 'rock'. The city's ruins are spread across a
great rift valley which is located east of Wadi Araba, about
eighty kilometers south of the Dead Sea. The name 'Petra' is
quite appropriate, because this valley is characterized by
red and salmon sandstone mountain peaks, overhanging cliffs,
precipitous mountain trails, and sheer rock walls which can
drop for hundreds of feet or more. This natural fortress
eventually became the capital of the Nabataean Arabs, who
dominated the area around the Sixth Century B.C.; after they
had apparently driven out the original occupiers of the land
whom I discussed earlier. The entrance to Petra was a trail
at the bottom of the canyon known in Arabic as 'El Siq';
which is translated into English as 'The Alley'. Following
the flow of the Wadi Musa, the city-center was laid out on
either sides of what is referred to by archeologists as the
'Colonnaded Street'. The city itself is carved right out of
the rock walls themselves.
While the Seleucid Wars were being fought between the
Ptolemies of Egypt, and the Seleucid kings of Syria several
hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, a point which
I mention in my Endtime article 'The Kings Of The North And
The South', it is said that the Nabataean Arabs took full
advantage of this situation by taking control of the spice
trade route, which stretched from Arabia in the south, to
Damascus in the north. It was because of their strategic
location, that the Nabataeans were able to prosper from the
the toll, and the taxes, which were collected from those
traders who travelled along this well-used caravan route.
In 64-63 B.C. the Nabataeans were conquered by Roman general
Pompey, who allowed them to retain their autonomy; although
they were forced to pay Roman taxes, and served as a buffer
zone against the desert tribes. Nabataean freedom may have
been further curtailed with the defeat of Roman General Marc
Antony, and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in about the year 31
B.C. This defeat resulted from the reunified Imperial Roman
Empire under Octavian; who is also known as Caesar Augustus
in the New Testament. It wasn't until about the year 106
A.D., that Petra was totally dominated by the Romans under
Emperor Trajan. At that time, Petra and Nabataea became part
of the Roman province known as Arabia Petraea. In 131 A.D.,
Emperor Hadrian visited Petra, and renamed it after himself;
that is, Hadriane Petra. During the Roman domination, many
structures were built; including a triumphal arch which
spanned 'The Alley'. Many of these structures were carved
out of the rock walls, or were built free-standing.
As I explain in other articles, in 330 A.D., Emperor
Constantine established the Eastern Roman Empire with his
capital at Constantinople. Although an earthquake destroyed
half of Petra in 363 A.D., it continued to prosper, and even
became the seat of a Byzantine bishopric. With the signing
of the Edict of Milan, Christianity became a legal religion,
and its effects were soon felt in the architecture at Petra.
Many standing structures and rock-cut monuments were reused
during the Byzantine Period, and new buildings were built as
well. Among the rock-cut monuments they reused is the great
tomb, or the Deir, also known as 'The Monastery', which was
modified into a church.
As with all temporal things, Petra eventually fell into a
state of decline. With a change in trade routes, commerce
was reduced. This was followed by a devastating earthquake
in 551 A.D. which severely impacted the city. Another major
factor was the rise of Islam in the 600's. Petra faded so
far from the world stage, that it was totally unknown to the
Western world until the year 1812; when local Bedoins shared
its existence with a certain Swiss explorer by the name of
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Despite the fact that it has now been under excavation for
almost one hundred years, I have read that only about one
per cent of the city has been investigated. Since 1993, in
cooperation with the Jordanian government, the sandstone
ruins of Petra have been excavated by American archeologists
from Brown University in the state of Rhode Island, U.S.A.
There is also the Petra-Jerash Project, which has been
undertaken by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, the
University of Jordan, the University of Utah, and Swiss
archaeologists.
Undoubtedly, one of the most famous structures found at
Petra, is 'Al Khazneh'; which is known in English as 'The
Treasury'. The pink sandstone facade of this carved ancient
wonder has been featured in a number of Hollywood movies,
such as the Indiana Jones series. This structure measures
forty meters high by thirty by thirty meters wide. As one
looks at it, it is easy to see its strong Roman influence.
For this reason, it has been suggested that it may have been
built around the First Century A.D. Other monuments and
structures found at Petra include the Urn Tomb and the Royal
Tombs, the Colonnade Street, the Temples of Dushara and
Al-Uzza, and the High Place of Sacrifice.
By now, you will have realized that Petra is a very unique
place in more ways than one. It is located in a remote area
of southern Jordan; it is not easily accessible by normal
means of transportation; it is protected by a rugged ring of
sandstone mountains; and many of its structures can serve as
natural fortresses, because they are carved right out of the
mountains themselves. In other words, while the facades are
on the outside world, the interior of many of the buildings
are actually inside the mountains. Considering all of these
various points, it is easy to understand why it has been
suggested that the previous verses from the Book of Isaiah,
may be referring to the Jordanians hiding the Woman in the
Wilderness, that is, the 144,000 Christian Jews, in Petra,
during the coming invasion and destruction of Jerusalem; or
Zion, as it is referred to in the verses from Isaiah. This
then, may be the offer which King Hussein will make to the
Jews; and it may be for this reason that God will spare him
from the wrath of the Beast; that is, his neighbor Syria to
the north.
If we accept that there may be some truth to this theory,
then the phrases 'the lamb', 'wandering bird', 'outcasts'
and 'him that wandereth', mentioned in Isaiah's mysterious
prophecy concerning Sela, or Petra, may all be referring to
the escaped Christian Jews who flee to this Jordanian rock
fortress. In addition, the phrases 'the extortioner', 'the
spoiler' and 'the oppressors' may be a reference to the
military forces of the Beast; which as I point out in other
articles, may originate in Syria, Iraq, Iran or possibly
even Turkey. I don't think we have very long to find out.
Notice that Isaiah's prophecy contains the unusual phrase
'make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday',
as well as 'be thou a covert to them'. How does one make his
'shadow as the night', that is, dark, in the middle of the
afternoon? Quite simply, by surrounding, or covering, his
shadow with darkness, so that it blends in. The only way to
do this, is by hiding underground where there is no light of
noonday! Might this be yet another indication that the
persecuted Christian Jews will hide in the dark interior of
the buildings at Petra with the blessings of King Hussein?
Is it possible that this is how he will help the Jews to
avoid total annihilation by the invading Muslim armies? To
add further weight to this amazing possibility, allow me to
remind you that the destruction, possibly nuclear in nature,
which King David prophesied in Psalm Ninety-One, will also
occur at noonday! Might David's 'arrows' be nuclear
missles?:
"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for
the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that
walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at
noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand
at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only
with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the
wicked." (Psalm 91:5-8)
In the final installment of this three-part series, we will
be discussing miracles in the wilderness, the length of the
Beast's war against the Lord's Saints, the possible meaning
of the dragon's flood, Endtime deceivers and wolves, the
sealed tribes of Israel, the focus on Israel, the Lord's
great slaughter, bondage of the Sabbath, the burden of the
Law, Jewish orthodoxy and the Anti-Christ, and a life and
death decision for the Christian Jews. I trust that you will
join me.
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